Local CBP staff members and employees facing struggles amid partial government shutdown
Heriberto Perez Lara
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — With the ongoing government shutdown partially impacting the Department of Homeland Security, some local CBP staff and employees are not receiving their paychecks.
President Trump recently signed an emergency order to promptly pay TSA workers who haven’t been paid during the current six-week shutdown and to help reduce long lines at various airports across the country.
According to Gustavo Sanchez, president of the National Treasury Employee Union (NTEU) chapter 143 here in El Paso, this partial government shutdown is not affecting the officer level — those working and operating at the Ports of Entry — but it is impacting support staff, administrative employees, CBP technicians, and even the managerial oversight in those departments.
“These employees are vital for us; they provide support in different areas, whether it’s administrative, which is the role of Mission Support Specialists (MSAs), or handling tasks like paperwork for travel, since we are still going to other locations, and the technicians who assist us with vehicle issues or at the ports’ lights,” said CBP Officer Sanchez.
This NTEU chapter covers the area from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Presidio, Texas; President Sanchez represents about 150 employees, including union members and managers.
“Right now, some of them are actually part of our steward staff, and they are finding it harder to come to work,” NTEU chapter 143 president Sanchez also said. “Now, with the higher gasoline prices, it’s becoming more difficult, and food might also be an issue.”
“I’m afraid of those things that we don’t know and that people don’t want to disclose; those are all the aspects currently being brought to our attention,” he added.
DHS has other branches or sections also impacted, including Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Coast Guard, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency(CISA), among others.
Watch the full story tonight on ABC-7 at 6.